


Aurora

by Vorta_Scholar



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Camping, Nature, Shore Leave, Stars, Trektober, Trektober 2020, trektober2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:00:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26951029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vorta_Scholar/pseuds/Vorta_Scholar
Summary: Commander Riker takes Data, Geordi, and Worf camping in Alaska to see the northern lights.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	Aurora

**Author's Note:**

> For Trektober 2020, Day 11
> 
> Prompt: Stars

Data had never been camping before. At least, never intentionally or for recreational purposes. Several of the Omicron Theta colonists had memories of camping that he had access to, and he had heard friends and fellow crew members tell him about their times camping, but he had yet to go himself. Ever since Commander Riker had mentioned two weeks before that they would be taking shore leave on Earth, and that he wanted to take Data, Geordi, and Worf with him on a two-day Alaskan camping trip, he had very much been looking forward to this trip.

Now, here they were, in the Alaskan wilderness, sitting around the campfire that Worf had helped Commander Riker build while Data and Geordi set up the tent, an event which held only two minor fiascos as on one occasion Data poked himself in the eye with one of the tent poles, which had been somewhat springier than he had expected, and on the second occasion when Geordi sent one of the poles flying into the brush while attempting to get the tent to stand up. Both of these made Commander Riker laugh and shake his head, though Data could not tell exactly what about their ineptness in assembling a tent was humorous.

Commander Riker passed a plate with a hotdog and a large scoop of baked beans to Worf, and one to Geordi.

“Data, I know you don’t need to eat, but would you like any? There’s plenty here,” Riker said.

“No, thank you, Commander,” Data said.

Riker smiled. “Alright. Let me know if you change your mind,” he said, taking the third plate for himself.

Data nodded, and he continued to sit in his chair by the fire with his arms resting stiffly on the armrests. But despite this apparent stiffness, he felt relatively at ease, calmer than normal. Even to him, it seemed, being out here with his friends as night took over the Alaskan wilderness, was soothing. He had experienced many outdoor holodeck programs and traveled through different landscapes at night, but there was something different about doing it this way. It felt natural, human, to choose to go into the wilderness at night and stay there, not because you had to, but because you wanted to, to experience some greater part of the past, the roots of human existence, and to just spend time with people who you cared about. This idea was one of many ideas that humans had which intrigued Data, and actually putting it into practice made him feel just a little closer to being one of them.

He smiled as he looked over at Worf, who was eating his baked beans by stabbing them with his fork instead of scooping them up the way that Geordi and Commander Riker were, and he wondered what thoughts Worf must have about this experience, as this particular one, despite being human, was of a much more American variety than the Russian one which Worf grew up into.

“Tonight’s supposed to be a good night for viewing the northern lights,” Commander Riker said.

“Oh, that’s great,” Geordi said, smiling. “I’ve never seen the northern lights.”

“Neither have I,” Data said.

“Have you ever seen them, Worf?” Riker asked.

Worf looked around at each of them, then back to Commander Riker, setting his fork down and lowering his plate before he spoke. “I have, Commander. They were not uncommon near my parents’ home. They were quite impressive,” he said. Then he added: “There is nothing like them on Kronos.”

“Alright,” Riker said. “Well, Geordi, Data, you’re both in for a treat. They’re beautiful in pictures, but there’s nothing like seeing it in person, eh, Worf?”

“Yes, I agree, Commander,” Worf said.

Riker set his empty plate into the small plastic bin he had brought for the dirty dishes and brushed his hands off on the knees of his trousers.

“I don’t mind dropping the whole ‘Commander’ thing here this weekend,” Riker said. “Let’s just not worry about ranks. We’re here on vacation, to have a good time. We’re not Starfleet officers right now. We’re friends on a camping trip, right?”

“Yes,” Worf said hesitantly, “um…”

“You can call me Will,” Riker said, laughing. “It’s alright. Really!”

Worf, Geordi, and Data all exchanged a puzzled, discomforted sort of look. Worf wasn’t sure if he would be comfortable with that. It felt wrong before it even came out of his mouth.

“ _Will_ ,” Worf said after a moment, earning another laugh from Commander Riker.

* * *

The four of them stayed up long after dark, watching and waiting. It was a clear night, with millions of stars and spatterings of purples and blues all across the sky visible for what must have been hundreds of thousands of miles. It was beautiful. Around midnight, Geordi retired to his sleeping bag inside the tent. Worf followed shortly after, having decided the aurora would not make their appearance tonight.

Around two in the morning, Commander Riker yawned loudly, and turned slowly to Data.

“I think I’m gonna turn in now, too,” he said.

“If you would like, I can wake you if I see anything,” Data said.

“Sure,” he said, smiling. “Night, Data.”

“Good night,” Data said, nodding politely to Commander Riker, who got up and ducked into the tent, zipping it closed behind him, and Data turned to face forward once more, staring up at the sky.

In his mind, he began calculating just what combination of pigments he would need if he were to recreate it in a painting. He doubted even he could recreate this. It would not be entirely accurate, he thought, nor would it do the absolute wonder of it justice. He thought, too, about all the paintings of starlit skies he knew, how none of them could compare to this. At least, not as far as accuracy went. Van Gogh, he decided, had gotten the closest to expressing not the accuracy which Data would have initially sought, but he did get the perception across—the _feeling_ , if Data could dare to use that word, in his own solitary, unshared thoughts.

He watched for hours, until the sun first peeked over the horizon, first spilling and then flooding the sky with oranges and yellows and reds, drowning out the navy and the violet hues. He watched it, eyes wide with wonder, and he smiled just a little knowing that this was a rare and wondrous sight, especially for him, who had spent most of his conscious existence on starships.

A little while later, Data heard a soft rustling inside the tent as someone fumbled their way out of a sleeping bag and tugged the zipper on the front of the tent open. Turning, he saw Commander Riker climbing out.

“Morning,” Riker said, his voice full of sleep.

“Good morning, Commander,” he replied.

Riker wandered over to an area of brush a few meters away from their campsite, and Data politely averted his gaze when he realized the commander was unfastening the front of his trousers.

“Did you ever see anything last night, Data?” he called a few moments later as he closed his trousers and made his way back over to where Data was, plopping down into one of the other chairs around where the fire had been.

“I did not see any of the lights we had been watching for,” Data said.

“Oh, well. Maybe next time,” Riker said reassuringly.

“Perhaps,” Data said. “Nevertheless, I found the view of the night sky to be quite...magnificent.”

Riker smiled. “Beautiful, wasn’t it?”

“I had never seen the night sky so clearly from the surface of Earth,” Data said. “I was not aware that so many of the colors were actually visible from down on the ground.”

“Maybe not in heavily developed areas,” Riker responded. “I bet you hardly ever even saw any stars when you were in the Academy.”

“Not many,” Data said. “At least, not while on Earth.”

“No stars over San Francisco,” Riker said. “That’s one thing I remember that came as a bit of a shock when I moved. But here, where so few people have decided to settle despite thousands of years of travel and exploration, you see it all. The stars, the colors. I’m sure it’s breathtaking for someone who’s never seen it.”

Data opened his mouth to say something about not having a need for breathing, but thought better of it and closed his mouth again. He nodded instead, earning another wide grin from Commander Riker.

“Alright,” Riker said. “I’m glad you got to see that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go try and wake the others so we can pack up and maybe get a nice nature walk in before we have to head back to the _Enterprise_.”

Data watched as Riker heaved himself out of the chair, turned, and ducked his head as he disappeared once more into the tent.


End file.
